Saturday, August 11, 2012

Sat Shifters-Terry Spear

Savage Hunger

Kathleen McKnight is on a dangerous mission to help her army team take down
a drug lord. She's a tough as nails recruit, but when she's caught in the
crossfire, she has to rely on a mysterious man to save her. She has no idea
that he has big plans for her...

Connor Anderson is a jaguar shifter who is looking for his mate. When he
rescues Kathleen in the jungle-twice—he can't help but be intrigued. Will a
bite or a scratch turn Kathleen into the perfect jaguar mate?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author, Terry
Spear has written numerous paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland
historical romances. An award-winning author, Terry’s Heart of the Wolf was named
a Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year in 2008. A retired
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear spends every spare
moment writing paranormal romance as well as historical and true life stories
for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is
working on new paranormal romances!

What inspired you to
become a writer?

I’ve always created oral stories and then later wrote them
in journals and took two English classes in a year of high school, including
Creative Writing. At least for me, I was born telling tales. *smile* This
always sounds to me as though I made up lots of fibs. :) One of my girlfriends,
who I’ve stayed in touch with over the years, remembers me telling spooky
stories during a Halloween sleepover we had one year after we ran around the
neighborhood in used ballroom gowns as fairy princesses and handing out candy.
My father also made up stories to tell us and I’m sure he influenced my love of
storytelling. He had so many true life stories to share that since bears are on
the menu, I’d mention one here. He and his boyhood friend were hiking into the
mountains in Washington State and had stopped to camp overnight in their
well-worn sleeping bags. It was cold and they were snuggled tight when they
heard a bear making snuffling noises as it poked around at them and both boys
knew they were dead meat. He pawed at them and finally ambled off. My dad had
nightmares about that experience the rest of his life. :) I always loved bears,
maybe because I’m from California and the grizzly is the state animal and is
pictured on the state flag.

Who are your favorite
shifter characters (besides your own?) The first shifter story that I read
was East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a Norwegian tale about a prince
cursed to be a polar bear and the girl who he wed. I loved Ladyhawke also,
where a lady and a captain love one another and are cursed to spend their time
apart as a hawk and a wolf.

Tell me what inspired
this story. In Legend of the White Wolf, two of the hero’s friends and P.I.
partners are hunting bear, but the wolves become much more of a problem. Wolves
don’t attack humans, normally, so it’s not exactly what you might think. In
Heart of the Wolf, the hero and heroine come across a bear as they’re trying to
make their way through a forest in Oregon. In my latest release, A SEAL in
Wolf’s Clothing, there are no bears, though it’s set on the Oregon Coast. In
that story, it’s strictly wolves, and a few SEAL wolves…as in Navy SEAL wolves.
My next coming release, Oct 2, is Savage Hunger, first of the jaguar shifter
stories. No bears in that one either. They’re running around in the Amazon
jungle dealing with a different kind of predator—man!

How did you start
crafting bears? My parents were going to doll and teddy bear shows where
they displayed carriages they’d built for doll collectors. They wanted me to
make an old-fashioned teddy bear for them to display with their creations. I
was making cloth dolls and did a lot of other hand embroidery work, rug
hooking, quilts, etc, at the time. So I created Wilde and Woolly Bears. They
ended up winning first place ribbons for best dressed bears, most unique bear
(pirate with a peg leg), and best of show! They were also featured in Teddy
Bear Review, Texas Monthly, and other magazines and newspapers. They’ve found
homes all over the world!

What was one of your
favorite orders for one of your bears? The MacLeod Clan bear—one lady
ordered one at a Highland show I attended, then came back to order seven more
for the whole family. :)

How do you balance
your day-to-day commitments with your writing life? I was working full time
as of July 31, but finally decided working full time at the library and working
an additional 40-45 hours on writing was getting to be too much. I have four
books in various stages in process for Sourcebooks now with four releases
scheduled for next year. So I intend to write more and have even more fun doing
it!

Is there anything
else you’d like to share with our readers?

Get ready for cat and dog fights on Discover a New Love! And
hope you check out the next release coming up, Savage Hunger, where the jaguars
rule the day.

Hi, Wendy!! I think I'm just kind of driven! :) I've always made up stories, but then I loved creating crafts too. I made dolls, embroidered, cross-stitched, hooked rugs, quilted. But I ran out of family to give stuff to. :)

So when I began making bears, I could use my years of experience at embroidery work to embroider their paws. And I was able to share them with the world. They've made it to homes in Russia, China, Australia, Canada, and other countries, as well as all over the US.

My stories took a similar path. They were home bound. And then, I was finally able to share them with the world!

Creating a bear is like creating a character. Each is unique in its own way! :)

Hi Terry,When I found out you craft bears as well as write shifter stories, I knew I had to have you on my blog during Roar!'s release date. It's exciting that both your bears and stories have traveled the world. Thanks so much for joining us today!

I love your books Terry. My mother and I used to collect bears. Our area used to have a Teddy Bear Collectibles show every year and we always went. It's too bad that they don't come around any more. Looking forward to your next book.Lynn

Thanks so much, Lynn! I went to several but then the shows just really dropped off! I even went to a Celtic Fest locally and sold quite a few Highland bears, and then they didn't have it after that first year years ago. I was soooo disappointed! Hope you love the jungle heat! LOL! Thanks again!

Hi, Regina, thanks so much! I guess my response didn't go through because I must have gotten the captcha wrong. Hate those things. They don't want robots to get it right, but what about humans? Well, maybe that's a bit telling...maybe I'm really part....wolf. Or...jaguar. Never know. LOL

Ah, thanks so much, Marg! That's what I love to hear! I hope you love those big hunky cats too! I'm working on Jaguar Fever right now. Deadline's looming! :) But it's exciting to have the cover already. I usually have the book done first! :)

I was excited to get the cover for A Highland Werewolf Wedding yesterday! He looks like Orlando Bloom's younger brother. Yum! :) That one comes out in May!